Things sure have been busy in the Lovelygood household, so not much posting (unfortunately). Christmas is soon coming, and Santa is getting a looooong list from me. Here are some highlights for this year’s mineral makeup picks:

• Anything from the Meow Winter Holiday 2007 collection. Especially “claw your way to the top” blush.
• Lumiere Gift certificate - so that I can get more brushes (like I need more)
• Complete Bath Set in Vanille Abricot from Pittsburgh Street Soapworks <—- I LOVE this scent!!!
• Personal Custom Kit - Mini from Everyday Minerals- I’ve decided that I want Photo album blush, Morocco eyeshadow, Spring pink lip colour, Cherry Fizz lip colour, Pick me up Pink concealer.
• Neostrata Ultra Smoothing Cream.

P.S. Current SALES!!!:

MAD minerals:
Exclusive Holiday Savings Event
10% OFF All Orders Over $20
15% OFF All Orders Over $50
20% OFF All Orders Over $75
25% OFF All Orders Over $100
Includes items already on sale!

Sale Ends December 16, 2007

Taylor Made:
Holiday Sale!
Every order receives 15% off!
Orders over $100 receive 20% off!
Orders over $200 receive 25% off!
Spend $301 or more and receive 30% off!

I’f I don’t get a change to write before the Holidays, everyone have a happy holiday season, and I hope everyone gets all the Mineral Makeup they asked for!

When I first started experimenting with mineral eye-shadows I was really excited over all of the colors and finishes available. I loved the natural, subtle look that minerals gave. But lately I’ve been itching to try more daring looks, and was having difficulty getting the most color payout. After discovering eyeshadow bases it was much easier to get brighter more vibrant color out of my eye-shadows. Here is a comparison of the few bases that I’ve tried:

From left to right; Just eyeshadow alone, Wet n’ Wild MegaEyes cream eyeshadow in Cafe au Lait, Urban Decay Primer Potion, and MAC Shadestick in Beiging.

As you can see the eyeshadow alone is very subtle looking, and after rubbing it gently it all but disappeared. The Wet n’ Wild seems to give good color pay-off but after rubbing it a little, the purple mineral eyeshadow rubbed off and all that was left was the Wet n’ Wild base. The UDPP held onto the eyeshadow very well, and brightened the color considerably, it still looks good now, even while writing this (after rubbing it a few times, and doing some light housework). The MAC shade-stick worked well too, it helped achieve good color payoff, although it did darken the colour a bit rather than brighten it, it too looks good while writing this.

Here is my faves, from best to worst:

1. Urban Decay Primer Potion (bright colors, great staying power)
2. MAC Shadestick in Beiging (great staying power, although darken color)
3. Wet n’ Wild MegaEyes (Good initial color payoff, lousy staying power for the minerals, although the base itself has great staying power <just minerals rubbed off>)
4. Eyeshadow alone

#4 Taylor Made Mineral
My top 2 products is her, eye pigments & eye pigments (she makes great eye pigments!).

• Eye Pigments: Taylor Made has possibly the most color selection you will find. From Sparkly colors to matte, and in every color imaginable. Her prices are very reasonable, and she offers generous samples. A few standout colors are, Envy- a deep green with gold highlights, Grave- a grey/gold/brown colour with sparkle, and Cheval-a matte dark brown/purple color (my favourite liner color hands-down!)

Taylor Made is on my Top Five list, because she had such an amazing array of colours. Her matte formulations make smooth and creamy eyeliner, when mixed with an eyeliner sealant. I also love the fact that many of her colors are shown with wet swatches, and applied to a model.

#5 MAD Minerals
My top 2 products are, mineral eyeshadow sealant, and multi-use colors.

• Mineral eyeshadow sealant: I really like this product, it is a must when lining your eyes with mineral eye-shadows. This product allows you to use virtually any eyeshadow as an eyeliner. It seems to seal in your eyeliner, to prevent smudging you would otherwise get with using water alone, this one is my favouite because it does the job for less $$.
• Multi-use colors: MAD makes some of the nicest eye-shadows, the color payoff is so good that many times I don’t need to use and eye primer. MAD also offers a wide choice in matte colours.

MAD Minerals is on my Top five list because they offer very nice products for a reasonable price, they often have great sales and their website is well organized.

So these are my favourite Mineral Makeup companies, they stand out because all of them have good prices, reasonable shipping, and good customer service. I hope you can find a favourite in one of my Top Five.